Improving Motor Vehicle Crash Reporting

on Tribal Lands in South Dakota

David Huft, June Hansen, James Carpenter, Lee AxdahlFebruary 20, 2008

2

Research Motivation

■ Motor vehicle crashes contribute significantly to Native American death and injury

■ Crashes on Indian lands in South Dakota appear to be significantly underreported

■ Complete and reliable crash data is needed to: Identify and correct safety problems Substantiate need and funding requests Resolve insurance claims for motorists Ultimately, save lives

3

Potentially Contributing Causes

■ Lack of trained and experienced law enforcement staff■ Varying crash reporting policies among tribal

administrations;■ Limited availability of electronic databases and

technology■ Concern about ultimate uses of crash data ■ Privacy concerns■ Unclear or misunderstood state reporting

requirements■ Conflicting requirements by SD and BIA■ Different crash investigation and reporting protocols■ Poorly established networks of communication■ Inadequate institutional arrangements

4

Study ParticipantsMemoranda of Understanding

■ Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe

■ Standing Rock Sioux Tribe■ Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe■ Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate■ Yankton Sioux Tribe■ Rosebud Sioux Tribe■ Oglala Sioux Tribe■ Crow Creek Sioux Tribe■ Lower Brule Sioux Tribe■ SD Dept. of Transportation

Partners■ Indian Health Service■ Bureau of Indian Affairs■ National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration■ Federal Highway

Administration■ Northern Plains Tribal

Technology Assistance Program

■ SD Tribal Government Relations

■ SD Dept. of Public Safety■ SD Highway Patrol■ ICF International

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Study Goals

■ Describe and evaluate current practices■ Identify barriers■ Recommend practical improvements■ Improve the completeness and quality of

crash data reported to SD Department of Public Safety for calendar year 2005

■ Facilitate agreements between tribal governments and the SD Department of Transportation on crash reporting

6

Field Visits

7

Other Input

■ BIA Law Enforcement Meeting■ Montana – FHWA Division■ Wisconsin Department of Transportation■ Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona■ Navajo Nation

8

Findings Overview

■ Legal Framework Tribal sovereignty Tribal laws and codes SD state statutes

■ Law Enforcement Training on form Tribes’ internal data

systems Staff shortage

■ Political Lack of political support

from tribal government Use of personal identifiers

(some tribes)

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Findings

Crashes Reported for 2005 Within Reservation Boundaries (2000 Census)

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Cheyenne River Sioux

Crow Creek Sioux

Flandreau Santee Sioux

Lower Brule Sioux

Oglala Sioux/Pine Ridge

Rosebud Sioux

Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux

Standing Rock Sioux

Yankton Sioux

State, County, City

Tribal/BIA Law Enforcement

Collected by Study

10

2005 Crash Data from Counties

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350B

uff

alo

Lym

an

Ben

net

t

Jack

son

Sha

nno

n

Mel

lett

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To

dd

Rob

erts

Cor

son

Ch

arle

s M

ix

Dew

ey

Zieb

ach

Study Collected

Reported 2005

Purdue Predicted

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Benefits of Collected Data

12

Findings

PRIMARY COLLECTION DATA PROCESSING

CRASH OfficerOn Scene

DispatchLog

Dispatcher

Full Crash Report

Tribal Data System

SDAccidentReportingSystem

BIA Data System

IncidentReport

Officer orAssistant in

Office

Tribal Crash Reporting Process

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Tribe by Tribe: Crash Reporting Challenges

Full Crash Report

Law Enforcement

Office CapacityTribal Data

System

Data Sharing - South Dakota

DPS

Cheyenne River

Crow Creek (sometimes)

Flandreau Santee

Lower Brule (sometimes)

Oglala Sioux (sometimes)

Rosebud Sioux

Sisseton-Wahpeton (SDHP)

Standing Rock (old)

Yankton (N/A)

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Best Practices

■ Navajo Nation Agreements with three states to share crash

reports■ State of Montana

Installing Cisco software at tribes■ Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA)

Tribe-based highway safety and crash data efforts■ State of Wisconsin

Training to be offered to tribal law enforcement officers at tribal technical college

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Best Practices

■ South Dakota Tribes Primary Collection Phase

—Flandreau Santee Sioux—Rosebud Sioux —Indian Highway Safety officers

Data Processing Phase—Rosebud Sioux: Cisco software—Flandreau Santee Sioux: spreadsheet—Oglala Sioux: spreadsheet, dedicated staff

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Pathways to Full Crash Reporting

■ Paper-based system■ Specialized software systems

Cisco Other software packages

■ TRACS software system Crash data input at roadside or office Software provided by State of South Dakota Electronic input to SD Accident Reporting

System

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Researchers’ Recommendationsto Technical Panel

■ SDDPS: Provide training tailored to tribal law enforcement Face-to-face Train-the-trainer Software self-training

■ SDDOT/SDDPS: Work with tribal councils and governments to establish crash reporting as a priority for tribal and BIA law enforcement High-level consultation Memorandum of Agreement

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Researchers’ Recommendationsto Technical Panel

■ SDDPS: Provide funding opportunities for tribes to improve crash reporting & tracking NHTSA 408 Data Improvement Other NHTSA safety programs Leverage with FHWA, BIA, IHS programs

■ SDDPS: Make reporting as easy as possible for tribes Electronic transfer from other systems Assign personnel

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Researchers’ Recommendationsto Technical Panel

■ SDDOT: Provide funding opportunities for hazard elimination on tribal lands Motivate improvements to crash reporting Address significant safety concerns May need to dedicate a portion for rural

locations

Bottom Line

Save Lives, Save Roads

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For More Information

David HuftResearch Program ManagerSouth Dakota DOT605.773.3358dave.huft@state.sd.us

June HansenCivil Rights Program SpecialistSouth Dakota DOT605.773.3540june.hansen@state.sd.us

James CarpenterOffice of Highway SafetySD Dept. of Public Safety605.773.4949james.carpenter@state.s

d.us

Lee AxdahlOffice of Highway SafetySD Dept. of Public Safety605.773.4156lee.axdahl@state.sd.us